Ralph Walker (1749 – 19 February 1824) was a Scottish

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

, particularly associated with harbour engineering works in London.

Early life

Walker was born in Tullibody, Clackmannanshire, the second son of farmer James Walker and Helen May.Skempton, A.W. (2002) ''A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland'', pp. 757-758 He went to the parish school in

Dollar Dollar is the name of more than 25 currencies. The United States dollar, named after the international currency known as the Spanish dollar, was established in 1792 and is the first so named that still survives. Others include the Australian d ...

and later was sent by his elder brother James to an academy where he learned marine navigation. He travelled to the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

and managed estates in

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

belonging to his mother's family before returning to settle in London in 1793 and becoming involved in plans for London's wet docks.

Civil engineer

Walker submitted designs for the

City Canal The City Canal was a short, and short-lived, canal excavated across the Isle of Dogs in east London, linking two reaches of the River Thames. Today, it has been almost completely reconstructed to form the South Dock of the West India Docks. ...

in 1796 as part of his preliminary designs for the

West India Docks The West India Docks are a series of three docks, quaysides, and warehouses built to import goods from, and export goods and occasionally passengers to, the British West Indies. Located on the Isle of Dogs in London, the first dock opened in 18 ...

on the Isle of Dogs, eventually being appointed resident engineer in August 1799, supervised by William Jessop. In 1800 he submitted designs for a

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

twin leaf

swing bridge A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that can be rotated horizontally around a vertical axis. It has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravit ...

as part of the Docks scheme. During this period, he worked with his nephew James Walker who stayed with him in Blackwall, London in the summer of 1880 and, after impressing with his abilities during discussions of the project, was articled to his uncle. In October 1802, however, Ralph Walker had a professional disagreement with Jessop and resigned his post on the West India Docks. He remained on good terms with Jessop, working on a scheme to remove the Blackwall Rock obstruction off Blackwall Point in the River Thames. In 1803, he was appointed engineer to the East India Docks Company, working with John Rennie. In 1807 the Surrey Commercial Docks Company was formed with Ralph Walker as engineer (until 1810) and James superintending the new lock and keeping the accounts. Walker was appointed engineer to the East London Waterworks Company from August 1807 to 1824. He designed and supervised the construction of the original Old Ford works along with two low level reservoirs and an upper distribution reservoir.View from the bridge: Figures associated with the waterworks
(accessed: 2 April 2013). Walker also designed a water supply scheme for

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, and was consulted on designs for

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

harbour, and on the Thames and Medway Canal scheme. On Walker's death on 19 February 1824''The Gentleman's Magazine'', Volume 94, Part 1; Volume 135, p.284 (he died at his home in East India Dock Road, Poplar following a fall down some steps), James became engineer to the Commercial Dock Company and also succeeded him as engineer to the East India Dock Company.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Ralph 1749 births 1824 deaths Scottish civil engineers British canal engineers People of the Industrial Revolution Harbour engineers People from Clackmannanshire